A Choice
by applesandicedtea
Summary: The stakes are life and death, and Sakura must make a decision that will effect Team 7 forever. Slight one-sided Sasusaku.
1. Decision

Author's Note: Enjoy! (Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters)

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Sakura raced across the battlefield in a blur of pink and green. She watched the flashes of gold and blue play across the horizon. She listened to the whirl of wind and the crackle of electricity that announced the arrival of each new blast. The ground rumbled and shook under her feet with growing intensity as she approached the furious battle. Only two people could be the source, and Sakura had a feeling whatever she arrived to would shatter the remainder of her heart.

She paused and scanned her surroundings. The forest was beginning to thin, indicating that she was close to the end and her boys. However the clearings where most of the war had waged were of varying size. Sakura could be far on the other side of where Naruto and Sasuke were fighting, and she did not want them to notice her arrival just yet. If Naruto caught whiff of her, he would be distracted, and Sasuke wouldn't hesitate to kill. Unconsciously, one of her gloved hands rubbed her throat at the thought.

"RASENGAN!"

Sakura froze at the piercing scream.

"CHIDORI!"

Her apple green eyes glazed over. If Naruto and Sasuke were true to form, then this was their end move. She tore off in the general direction of the voices, following the noise of a thousand chirping birds. Desperation urged her to go faster, and somewhere in her mind she thought even the Raikage would admire her pace. A flash brighter then the sun nearly knocked her off her feet. Time seemed to slow as she fought to keep going through the blinding white. She could hear faint screaming and cursing in the distance that faded into eerie silence.

Sakura feared she'd gotten there too late. She peered around the charred and broken tree trunk she was hidden behind. Naruto and Sasuke were on the ground, as still as stone. Crimson coated their clothes and stained their skin. She took a quiet step forward, fear seeping into her mind and clouding all other thoughts. Neither stirred, there was no victory cry from Naruto or mechanical laughter from Sasuke. There was just silence, and smoking trees, and Sakura.

She sprinted to her teammates and stopped directly in between. A quick scan told her that both needed immediate medical assistance. She took a step toward Naruto, but her cracked heart cried for her to turn around. She felt like a tug-of-war rope being pulled to the snapping point. How could she choose between her love and her best friend?

Sakura wiped at her eyes which threatened to spill over with tears. Crying was for the weak she reminded herself. The obvious choice was Naruto, the boy who would do anything for her and Hero of Konoha. Yet every fiber of her being screamed for Sasuke.

She glanced around the war-torn clearing, as if looking for the answer somewhere among the ash and blood. The glint of metal caught her eye, and she realized that Sasuke's katana had been knocked away during the fight. It implanted itself in the ground and blood dripped off the hilt onto the cracked earth. Images of purple poison, and puppets, and sand flashed in her mind. Sakura gave a weary smile to Naruto, and crossed the space separating her from Sasuke. Bright Green chakra flickered to life around her hands and as she healed his wounds. She finished with his face, running a finger across a deep scratch on his cheek. Sakura leaned forward slowly and placed a kiss on his cheek where the wound used to be. He started to groan, and she took this as her cue to move.

Naruto laid unmoving on what was probably the only patch of grass left in the field. He looked peaceful, she thought, even though his face had fresh blood splattered on it. Her chakra was almost depleted, but she could still save him. Sakura kneeled next to him and placed her hands over his heart, like Chiyo taught her to. It was painful for a brief moment, but then a blue force massed at her palms. His wounds closed up faster than any healing procedure she'd ever witnessed, and as a medic she couldn't help but be amazed despite the cost.

When his heartbeat sputtered to life, she felt her own skip a beat. As his eyes darted under his lids, her vision began to dim. A numb feeling enveloped her chest and spread to her fingers and toes. The blue light in her hands grew smaller and smaller until a gust of wind blew it out like a candle. A hand was at her shoulder, warm and large, and she thought she saw the color black. A deep voice kept calling out to her, but she couldn't make out the words. The last thing she saw before her eyes failed completely were Naruto's cerulean blue ones popping open. And then there was nothing.


	2. Recovery

Author's Note: Next chapter for the story! Enjoy! (Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters)

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Naruto leaned against the flowering Sakura tree with a strained smile. He fiddled with the large hat in his hands and plucked at the stiff, unfamiliar robes that signified his new position. His eyes found the aging plague at the base of the tree, surrounded by flowers wilted and new, and candles long melted. He picked up the small picture that leaned against the trunk and rubbed off the grime and dirt that clouded the glass. His grin slipped off his face at the sight of a young, complete Team 7. Naruto glared at Sasuke, who did his best to show no emotion in response. Sakura beamed in the center, arms gathered to her chest as if trying to contain her excitement.

His blue-eyes shown with unshed tears as he placed the picture back in its spot. He paused at the new addition that had been put deeper into the thick, tangled roots. It was of Sakura right around the time he returned home with Jiraiya, a massive smile split her face and her eyes shown the color of leaves. Based on the intricate flower arrangement before it, Naruto guessed that Ino had also visited earlier. Probably ruined the surprise too.

The blonde took a deep breath, in an effort to fight off the ache growing in his chest, and gripped the branch closest to him. He climbed the tree with practiced ease, knowing every nook and cranny. He stopped near the top, in a spot well worn by years of use and one-sided conversations. After settling himself within the newly grown buds and flowers, he gazed up at the darkening sky. A soft breeze teased his hair and shuffled the layers of branches, flowers, and leaves. A delicate blossom broke off and drifted into his lap, settling right on top of his hand.

"Hey Sakura-chan," He whispered into the silence. The wind stilled and there was a sense of expectance in the air around him. A new, real grin spread from ear to ear, and he picked up his hat before thrusting it into the air. "I'VE BEEN MADE HOKAGE 'TTEBAYO!" A couple birds nestled further up in the tree took off in a flurry of feathers.

Naruto chuckled softly when he felt the ghost of a fist tap his arm. "Yeah, yeah… I know too loud again. But I did it Sakura-chan! The ceremony was awesome, everyone showed up and they all were screaming my name. I'm sure Ino told you earlier, and I hope you chewed her ear off for ruining my surprise." He paused to watch the sunset, which stained the sky scarlet and pink.

"Oi, Dobe!" A deep voice called from somewhere near the bottom. Naruto leaned over on his branch to see Sasuke standing at the base. The ex-avenger had his hands stuffed in his pockets and a slightly irritated expression on his face. He hated it when people laid a finger on this tree, and Naruto couldn't help but wiggle his butt on the branch. At this, Sasuke's eyebrow twitched and he crossed his arms.

"COME ON UP TEME! We never visit Sakura together anymore." Naruto patted the branch next to his. Sasuke grumbled something under his breath, but started to climb none the less. By the time he had carefully picked his way up, careful not to disturb a petal, the sun had dipped below the horizon and plunged the group in darkness. Above them hung the moon, full and dominating the sky. Naruto smiled, cherishing the feeling of being with both of his best-friends again.


	3. Goodbye

Author's Note: I'm pretty sure this will be the final chapter to the story. I hope you guys like it! (Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.)

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Kakashi hated the graveyard, hated it with every fiber of his being. There were too many familiar names and dusty memories with every gravestone and memorial. He visited only to remind himself of his past failures, to make sure he never forgot a single detail of those he lost. It was his punishment for himself, for allowing his precious people to die in the first place.

He pocketed his famous Icha Icha book, making sure to bookmark the page, at the sight of the graveyard's entrance. When it had been designed, the architects had intended for graveyard to feel like a sort of paradise for the dead. No roads, no metal, just white stone among the grass. But years of wandering the same route everyday had left a dirt trail winding between the graves.

Kakashi fixed his uncovered eye on the path in front of him, knowing it would first lead to the memorial stone. Then it would branch out deep into the hills, where Minato-sensei had been buried with his wife. His father was the last, because a small part of him stilled mulled and brooded over the fact The White Fang had taken his own life. It was his father's own choice to leave Kakashi alone without a family.

He almost turned to leave, to follow the path out as he had done for years. But another grave called for his attention, a newer addition. Kakashi reached the Cherry Blossom tree around noon, when the sun turned the flowers from pink to an almost florescent magenta. He took a moment to enjoy the beauty, mostly because it reminded him so much of his lost student, and continued to the shrine located at the base.

It was cluttered with flowers of every color and age, and letters from loved ones. An envelope sealed with the Uchiha crest caught his eye, despite the giver's attempt to hide it behind the others. He took a moment to clear out some of the dried, brown petals that had fallen from the tree.

"I'm sorry for everything, Sakura. I should have been a better teacher to you and the boys. If I had maybe we wouldn't be here right now." He touched the bark gently, noting how there wasn't a single imperfection on the entire trunk.

"Kakashi, I can't say I'm surprised to see you here."

He looked over his shoulder to see the Fifth Hokage herself making the trek to the tree. She still tried to maintain her young appearance, but Kakashi could make out faint wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes. The shinobi of Konoha were left with a weakened Hokage after the war and the deaths of Jiraiya and Sakura. However she insisted on seeing out all the treaties and negotiations before stepping down from her position.

"Kakashi, is it wrong of me to be proud of what she did?" Tsunade asked. The usual bravado was gone from her voice.

"She gave her life for her teammates, in my books there's nothing nobler." He frowned slightly at his answer, because while he was proud of Sakura's actions, he also felt gut-retching guilt.

A flash of Obito's back sprung up in his mind, accompanied by a pair of narrowed, blood-red eyes. "While those who break the rules are scum, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

"Don't worry Obito, I haven't forgotten," he whispered to the wind. The back of his neck prickled slightly, and he felt a pair of eyes glued to his back. Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets and casually glanced to the left. Four, shadowy figures stood on a hill overlooking Sakura's grave.

He spied purple face paint, a pair of googles, warm aqua-blue eyes, and spiky white hair. Just as he began to walk toward the group, longing and desperation churning in his stomach, another figure approached from the right. It was a woman with cropped pink hair held back by a forehead protector, still garbed in war uniform.

She paused at Tsunade, and placed a hand on her shoulder. The golden-haired woman snapped her head up, pigtails whipping her back, and nearly broke her neck searching for whatever had touched her. The kunoichi's lips moved slightly, whispering a secret message for only the former Hokage to hear. He watched tears roll down the Fifth's face as the hand withdrew and she continued forward, coming level with Kakashi.

"Don't let the ghosts of your past haunt you forever Kakashi-sensei, we only want you to be happy," Sakura's voice was as thin and airy as wind itself. He felt a hand brush his arm, and then she and the others were gone.


End file.
